Today's modem vehicle onboard computer systems have the ability to collect trip data such as speed, engine rpm, and other vehicle or engine data on a continual basis. This trip data is then analyzed for driver performance of shifting and driving patterns and investigating the circumstances surrounding an accident or traffic violation. To analyze trip data from a vehicle, one must present a useable display of the data that presents all of the elements in a clear inter-related fashion. It is also important to tie the trip data with the geographic position of the vehicle, for example to check speed down a steep hill or driving patterns in a normally congested area.
Electronic Tachograph (ETOG) systems have been available for many years to record trip data. A system is presently available in the industry where the speed and revolutions per minute (RPM) of the vehicle are collected at short intervals (typically 1 sec per reading). This trip data is collected on the vehicle and transmitted to an office database for analysis. The system typically displays the data in graphs of speed and RPM vs. time.
Newer systems have also incorporated global positioning satellites (GPS) to record a vehicle's geographic position in Latitude/Longitude. These systems record that position on a frequent basis, and construct a “bread crumb trail” to analyze the route the vehicle took.
None of the existing systems have successfully organized geographic position with trip data in an integrated fashion, although such a combination has several potential uses. If a driver gets a speeding ticket the user can point to the location where the ticket was given and analyze the vehicle speed surrounding that location and confirm whether or not the vehicle was actually speeding. Sometimes a driver is found to have “overreved” an engine several times during the day. “Overreving” the engine unnecessarily increases wear and tear on the engine. By marking an ETOG display at points where an RPM threshold was exceeded, a corresponding GPS map could show the locations shown at which the “overreving” occurred to determine how the “overreving” might be avoided. When an accident occurs, the time of the accident can be marked on both the GPS map and the ETOG graph to show speed, RPM, and the vehicle's geographic position surrounding the accident.
These are all benefits that cannot be enjoyed from the existing technology because it has not found a way to organize GPS information and trip data in an integrated fashion.